Who will lead us?

Sir - Sadly, I am obliged to agree with the implied conclusion of your leading article "Tories get the blues" (Sept 20): the "harsh truth" is that Iain Duncan Smith is not up to his job.

Loyalty used to be regarded as the secret weapon of the Conservatives and all of us are aware of the damage that disunity can cause. No one should understand that better than Mr Duncan Smith, given his own record during the Major government. Nevertheless, he cannot be allowed to go on clinging to the leadership simply because party members fear that a regime change might reduce us to an even more parlous state than we are in at present.

The Brent result is surely the last nail in that particular coffin. How many Tories in the country believe that Mr Duncan Smith can be sold to the electorate? There are at least half a dozen candidates in the parliamentary party who could lead us to victory over a Prime Minister who is now discredited and vulnerable, and who leads a party that is in disarray.